Noble Syndicate
The Noble Syndicate was a faction of bounty hunters that served as Lecundi's chapter for the Bounty Hunters' Guild. History Origins Lecundi was reported to have bounty hunters as far back as there were settlers on the planet. Out of the world's hundreds or thousands of beast tamers and hunters, herbalists, poison makers and swoop bike riders, there were always enough of them who desired justice or money in some fashion and were willing to make a living from it. Old Sith Wars It was during the Old Sith Wars that the bounty hunters on Lecundi actually agreed to follow the Creed of the Bounty Hunters' Guild and organised themselves into an actual chapter. Due to the prominence of several noble houses in their ranks, and the fact that many noble houses used their funds to bolster the bounty hunters and provide charity and refurbishment to multiple neighborhoods throughout Lecundi's cities, the group decided that they would be referred to as the Noble Syndicate. Rising Separatism When the Umbaran colonel Naron arrived on the planet prior to the beginning of the Clone Wars, he had a combat arena secretly constructed and sent messages to numerous criminal elements on the planet welcoming them to join in on the festivities. Killing foes in the arena was optional, but the ultimate victors of the arena would serve as Naron's command staff. A number of Noble Syndicate bounty hunters braved the risks of what would happen if the legal authorities discovered what was going on and took part in the combat, with several of them dying or being crippled or badly wounded in the process. The winners of the tournament joined Naron's command staff, which led to them becoming commanders in the Confederacy of Independent Systems, specifically under his command. Clone Wars The Noble Syndicate's bounty hunters collected a great number of bounties on Grand Army and CIS targets. A handful of it's hunters went rogue and sided with one faction above another, often resulting in their being killed or arrested, and they did not represent the Noble Syndicate chapter. Members of the Noble Syndicate found themselves particularly busy during the Arvtgarda System Campaign, wherein the Republic and Separatists were paying considerable sums for assistance in combat, for the acquiring of information, and for hunting down targets. Most of the bounties placed on lifeforms were capture orders instead of kill orders. When the fighting came to Lecundi, which was partially controlled by the CIS, the Noble Syndicate gathered it's members for a meeting that the faraway members attended via hologram. The members were to vote on whether or not the Syndicate would remain neutral, pick a side, or assist both sides where the money was good. Galactic Civil War The Noble Syndicate's membership received offers from the Hutt Cartel, Zann Consortium, Galactic Empire, Black Sun, Hex Syndicate, Alliance to Restore the Republic, Black Knights, and numerous other factions during the events of the Galactic Civil War. Operation Suave Tibanna Around one year following the Battle of Yavin, Herung Khou was quietly offered a mission by the Alliance to Restore the Republic: they needed assistance for Operation Suave Tibanna, which involved breaking three rebel sympathisers out of an Imperial prison, and they were willing to pay a modest price for each bounty hunter involved, if the operation succeeded. This led to Khou assembling a team to partake in the mission, which included bounty hunters from the Noble Syndicate, among others. Operation Gilded Bacta Bounty Hunter Wars In-fighting erupted within the Bounty Hunters' Guild, with Lecundin hunters having a stake in both the True Guild and the Reform Guild. Around half of the Noble Syndicate's membership died due to fighting with other hunters from other chapters, with only a few small incidents involving Lecundin bounty hunters killing each other. The Noble Syndicate withdrew from the Bounty Hunter Wars and cut off all contact with outside bounty hunters as it sought to recollect it's strength. The now-independent branch focused on jobs within the Arvtgarda System, many of which involved battling or assisting the criminal organisations that had risen to power on the planet since the rise of the Galactic Empire. A number of nobles in the Syndicate tried to make a push for the Syndicate to support the Empire in the Galactic Civil War, and young firebrands within the chapter wished to support the Alliance. This led to a great assemblage of surviving Lecundin bounty hunters who were reluctant to meet in one place due to the potential for an ambush, and the debate they had nearly resulted in violence. Cooler heads prevailed and the chapter's leadership asserted that the chapter itself was neutral, and that anyone who partook in armed combat during uprisings on Lecundi or in the Arvtgarda System did so at their own risk. The Creed's rule stating that bounty hunters should never turn down aid to one another had a clause given to it in the Syndicate's version that stated: "Help is not certain when fighting a war." This allowed the chapter to maintain it's structure, aside from the deaths of a few nobles and younger bounty hunters. Gradually, more bounty hunters began performing tasks for the Rebellion once their status began improving financially. They paid more, so they received more aid from Lecundi's bounty hunters. New Republic A small number of NS's roster hired themselves out to the Imperial Warlords and Imperial Remnant to act as elite security and law enforcement squads in their holdout sectors, whereas a great many performed tasks for the New Republic and her many allies. Dark Empire The creation of the Dark Empire, also known as Emperor's Empire Reborn, in 10 ABY, troubled a number of the Noble Syndicate's members. Very few bounty hunting contracts were put out by the Dark Empire, and the Lecundin bounty hunters refused to accept any contracts originating from the Dark Empire that would endanger the lives of the New Republic's personnel. In case the New Republic lost the war with the Dark Empire, the leaders of the Noble Syndicate decided that it was best to remain neutral in the conflict and that, again, anyone who became involved in war-time combat was not confirmed to receive aid from any of the chapter's bounty hunters. Crimson Empire The reborn Sheev Palpatine's Dark Empire collapsed in 11 ABY and the Imperial Sovereign Protector Carnor Jax established a small but centralised Imperial government. Existing in a long strip that ran from the Colonies to the Outer Rim Territories and bordering on Palleon's Pentastar Alignment, it had few forces available but accumulated enough wealth that they could afford to hire out bounty hunters. Many members of the Noble Syndicate performed contracts for them. Yhuuzan Vong War When the Yhuuzan Vong convinced a half dozen bounty hunters from the Noble Syndicate to support their invasion, the rest of the chapter turned on them and had them imprisoned or executed. Their leadership then declared that the extragalactic threat must be destroyed, and the chapter threw it's support behind the New Republic. Their support dwindled slightly following the New Republic's reformation into the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, as they saw that the Galaxy was repelling the Yhuuzan Vong and that the chapter could return to being ordinary bounty hunters. First Order-Resistance War Only a few of the Noble Syndicate's bounty hunters performed bounty hunting missions for the First Order until it began to obtain significant prominence throughout the galaxy, after which the chapter took it more seriously. The Noble Syndicate then took on bounties from the First Order and the Resistance. When the First Order discovered this, the Arvtgarda System was invaded, a garrison was installed and the bounty hunters were forced to either sign a document legally binding them to refuse bounty missions put out by the Resistance, or to flee into hiding or risk execution. Sith-Imperial War From 127 AB to 130 ABY, the Noble Syndicate was really busy. It's membership partook in multiple missions that spanned throughout the Galaxy as a plethora of factions and organisations posted bounties on multiple beings, droids, vehicles, starships, and other targets. They aided both the Galactic Empire and One Sith and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances and New Jedi Order. When the Galactic Alliance fell and the One Sith turned on the Empire, at least two Sith took their anger out on the Noble Syndicate by attacking it's membership for even daring to support an opposing galactic power during the war. This ultimately led to Noble Syndicate refusing to work for the Sith, choosing instead to support the Galactic Alliance Remnant and Roan Fel's True Empire. The Bounty Hunters' Guild -which had been reformed many decades ago- did not wholly approve of the decision, but respected it nonetheless. The Long Peace When the Second Imperial Civil War ended, the Galactic Federation Triumvirate was formed. While the Noble Syndicate refused to work for the One Sith and found that the Galactic Federation Triumverate offered a stable working environment, they did perform a few tasks for Darth Wredd's Insurgency. Following Darth Wredd's defeat, it is unknown how the Noble Syndicate operated during the long peace in the galaxy. Roster Herung Khou Troon Siebo Yjol'Sted Shannis Jamaj Karski